Originally Posted by writerguyfl

I worked nights at a Front Desk for years at a busy hotel. On an average week, we were oversold 2 to 4 nights depending upon the season and local events. Whenever you're oversold, you create a plan to relocate (aka walk) some guests. I feel like I have a ton of experience on this topic.

While I never worked at a Starwood property, I feel confident in stating that SPG never had a "No Walk" policy for upper-level elite frequent guests. That's simply not realistic when it comes to hotel operations.

For example, every couple of months, I'd arrive at work on an oversold night and find that 100% of our arrivals were elite-level guests. In that scenario, it would be impossible not to relocate an elite guest.

Additionally, most FlyerTalk members don't like hearing the fact that elite members of the chain's frequent guest program are not the most important customer of an individual hotel. The most important customer is the company that brings in the most guests. Those companies almost always have locally-negotiated rates.

A single elite-level guest can provide a hotel with at most 365 room nights per year. A local company can provide thousands or even tens of thousands of room nights annually. In a scenario where we had to relocate either an elite-level guest who had never stayed with us or someone booked through our largest corporate client, we took the penalty and walked the elite-level guest.

Someone like Arne Sorenson would certainly understand the rationale behind that choice. Risking a corporate contract worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) to avoid relocating a single elite-level guest would be something an idiot would do.



Personally, I'd never seek compensation over what amounted to a 13 minute delay and a bit of confusion. I've waited longer than 13 minutes in line to check in at some hotels. That said, there's no right or wrong answer to that question. If you feel like asking for compensation, just ask.